Various groups have raised alarm over the high volume of fossil fuel and toxic cargo-carrying vessels allowed to ply critically biodiverse seas
Corals, reef, and fishes in Verde Island Passage (Shutterstock photo by Lexter Yap)
LiCAS News May 9, 2023
Communities living along the Verde Island Passage (VIP) in the Philippines, the world’s most critical marine biodiversity center, called for a ban on all tankers carrying toxic cargo to avoid risks of tragedies similar to the ongoing oil spill.
The call was made as the House of Representatives’ Committee on Ecology and Committee on Natural Resources held a hearing in aid of legislation in relation to the oil spill caused by the February 28 sinking of the fuel tanker MT Princess Empress.
“We’re disappointed that even as it took two long months before congress called for another investigation, there appears to be no significant progress in exacting justice for affected communities and biodiversity,” said Gerry Arances, executive director of think-tank Center for Energy, Ecology, and Development (CEED).
He said coordination among various government and responsible actors “still proves to be severely lacking.”
“The complexity of responses necessary in the aftermath of a disaster of this scale shows that we should not allow such incidents to happen in the first place,” said Arances.
He said tankers carrying toxic cargo such as industrial oil and other fossil fuels should be banned from coursing through the VIP.
Various groups have raised alarm over the high volume of fossil fuel and toxic cargo-carrying vessels allowed to ply critically biodiverse seas, especially the marine-significant Verde Island Passage.
Fisherfolk group representatives who attended the hearing lamented the “insufficient and problematic responses” made for communities impacted by the oil spill.
“It is disheartening to see the finger-pointing,” said Dindo Melaya, convenor of oil spill-impacted fisherfolk coalition Koalisyon ng Mangingisdang Apektado ng Oil Spill.
Arances said government agencies and members of Congress can go on with the “blame game … but there will be no justice if the polluters that caused this ecological disaster are allowed to play truant.”
“We sincerely hope that our government will deliver the punitive actions these companies deserve, including the compensation they owe to communities whose livelihood they robbed and whose welfare they harmed,” he said.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources on Tuesday, May 9, joined five provincial governments to press for a law that will make the VIP a protected area.
Environment Secretary Antonia Loyzaga said that while the VIP is currently classified as a marine protected area, governors from surrounding provinces want it to be protected and covered by legislation.
Say shootings are being labeled deaths by natural causes, claim harassment amid the backdrop of an ICC probe
This photo taken on June 17, 2022 shows forensic pathologist pointing at a scapula with a bullet hole during a post mortem medical examination of an exhumed drug war victim, at the University of the Philippines Manila, in Manila. (Photo: AFP)
UCA News reporter May 09, 2023 06:59 AM GMT
Families of victims of former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte’s controversial war on drugs claim they are being harassed by state operatives in order to cover up how their loved ones met their deaths.
The claims come amid an International Criminal Court probe into thousands of deaths attributed to Duterte’s anti-drug campaign.
Lourdes de Juan, 41, widow of Constantino de Juan, said several men claiming to be members of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) were putting pressure on her after an independent forensic pathologist examined her husband’s remains.
De Juan said she was visited by the NBI officials at least three times at her house in a slum in Quezon City, in the capital Manila, where her husband was shot and killed by masked men in 2016 while cooking pasta for the birthday of one of their seven children. Two of the children witnessed the killing.
“Their visits were in relation to a subpoena I received last January, asking me to appear at the NBI office,” she told UCA News.
In March this year, the ICC rejected Philippine government appeal to suspend a probe into the war on drugs, started by Duterte when he came to power in 2016. Official figures put the death toll at 6,500 but rights groups like Human Rights Watch claim the tally is much higher, with some estimates putting the toll at more than 30,000.
Sara Duterte, daughter of the former president, serves as vice president in the government of Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and the Marcoses and the Dutertes are known political allies.
De Juan said she has an idea why government operatives have contacted her.
“They [NBI] knew I allowed a forensic pathologist to examine my husband’s remains and the result was that he did not die due to natural causes as certified on the official death certificate but due to a bullet wound to his head,” she said.
The crime scene report stated that her husband died due to three bullet wounds and the certificate was attested by a physician from East Avenue Medical Center in Quezon City.
But when the Philippines Statistics Authority issued the official death certificate, the 36-year-old’s cause of death was due to natural causes.
“This is completely false because my husband died because he was shot,” de Juan said.
Aided by anti-drug war activist and Society of Divine Word priest Father Flavie Villanueva, an independent forensic pathologist exhumed her husband’s remains on Dec. 8, 2021.
“He [De Juan] was reportedly pronounced dead and the case was certified as ‘three bullets due to gunshot’. On the Philippine Statistics Authority death certificate, however, a private physician signed the cause of death as ‘acute myocardial infarction [due to hypertension],” forensic pathologist Dr. Raquel Fortun wrote in her report.
Locals seek security inside Catholic churches and government schools in the Mindanao region
Soldiers stand guard along a road as residents walk to a mosque to pray during the Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, in Marawi City, in the southern island of Mindanao on May 2, 2022. (Photo: AFP)
By UCA News reporter Published: May 03, 2023 11:21 AM GMT
Hundreds of villagers rushed to take refuge in Catholic churches and government schools as the Philippine army launched air strikes on suspected hideouts of an Islamic State (IS)-linked terrorist group in the marshlands of Maguindanao province in Mindanao region.
The Archdiocese of Cotabato reported more than 200 families fled the villages of Magaslong and Datu Piang for safety as mortar shells began pounding the Dawlah Islamiya hiding places in the region on May 2.
Members of the terrorist group were spotted consolidating forces in huts in the local community of Magaslong, Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur, Brigadier General Oriel Pangcog said at a press conference.
“We wasted no time, we immediately launched the attack considering the suspects were not in a village or community where civilians could be killed,” Pangcog added.
Artillery bombs were fired from 3 a.m. until 12 noon forcing the villagers to flee in a desperate bid to avoid getting caught in the crossfire or becoming human shields.
“Government forces are running after the terrorists because of the bus bombing in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat that hurt six people. They were also former members of the radical Maute group that lay a siege to Marawi in Lanao del Sur province to establish a caliphate,” Pangcog said.
“From very early in the morning, we could hear helicopters and artillery fires. Our children won’t stop crying because they could hear the explosions and gunfire from the other side of the field,” Susan Guinigundo, a mother of five in Maguindanao, told UCA News.
Guinigundo, a lector at St. Therese of the Child Jesus Parish, in Datu Piang, abandoned her house and fled with her children.
“We didn’t know what to expect. What if those Islamic fighters use us as human shields? We need to protect ourselves by leaving our homes,” Guinigundo said.
Another family said they had requested their relatives from a nearby village to pick them up in a dump truck.
“We follow a protocol in the family. My cousin who owns the truck is supposed to help rescue us in an emergency situation like this,” Miguel Bastardo, a 46-year-old farmer told UCA News.
Cotabato archdiocesan Father Clifford Baira told UCA News that the situation on the ground was “very difficult” and 43 Catholic families were sheltered in parishes across the region.
“Most of them are with children so we are collecting milk and other items for their proper nutrition,” Baira added.
The archdiocesan Social Action Center had tried negotiating with the families and relatives of Dawlah Islamiya members in 2019 but the meetings failed due to “religious differences.”
“They think we Catholics are infidels and so need to be converted or brushed aside by violence. If this is the case, there is very little room for peace and communication,” the priest said.
Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Amorato, a spokesperson of the army’s 6th Infantry Division, told the media on May 2 that the operation was a “pre-emptive action before the group could launch another terrorist attack.”
“We made sure that there would be no collateral damage but of course, we could not prevent residents from rushing to evacuation centers because of the impact of the shelling,” he said.
Amorato said government forces were not sure of the number of terrorists killed, but said the snipers were still hiding in the marshlands.
“We cannot go near the area yet because shots are still being fired at us. Perhaps after a day or two we will conduct our own surveillance and go near the area,” Amorato added.
The Philippines is the world’s third-largest contributor to plastic waste, World Bank says
Workers clean up a beach in Zamboanga province of the Philippines in this undated photo: (Photo: Office the City Environment and Natural Resources, Zamboanga City)
By UCA News reporter Published: May 02, 2023 11:42 AM GMT
Residents in a Philippine province collected thousands of kilograms of plastics from the streets and water bodies and exchanged those for rice from the local government as part of a campaign to tackle pollution.
The pilot campaign ran in Zamboanga province in the Mindanao region throughout April and will be replicated in other provinces struggling to contain plastic contamination, said an official from the Office of City Environment and Natural Resources (OCENR) in Zamboanga City.
The agency director Marigold Aranza told UCA News on May 1 that in the past various campaigns to tackle plastic pollution failed but the latest one became successful.
Aranza said residents received one kilogram of rice for every two kilograms of plastics.
A total of 2,084 kilos of rice were traded to residents in Zamboanga over plastic bags and containers during the “Plastic for Rice” campaign, she said.
Aranza said they asked residents to deposit plastics instead of burning and throwing those into the sea.
Zamboanga City mayor John Dalipe said the program came as they found plastic pollution was on the rise in the region.
“We started in four to five barangays [local communities] along the coastlines. We noticed the increase of floating plastic containers at sea so we thought of a program on how to reduce them. A perfect plan would be to incentivize recycling,” Dalipe said in a press conference on May 1.
Dalipe said altogether a total of 4,144 kilos of plastic bags, not counting plastic containers, were freely given by locals.
“They gave more plastic containers which means the project worked. Some of them just wanted to get rid of their trash,” Dalipe added.
The OCENR Zamboanga chapter chairman Wilmer Cruz told UCA News that local villagers were first hesitant about the sustainability of the project because they did not know the organizers.
“They thought we were a scam… the idea sounds really odd – exchanging plastics for rice. It’s like exchanging trash for food. Who really does that?” he said.
“But when the local government through the Office of the City Mayor introduced us formally to the people, we slowly gained local support,” he added.
Families who participated in the program claimed they were encouraged to gather more plastics to have more kilos of rice to be brought home.
“We have become more conscious not only of what we throw but of what is in the garbage bin. We have slowly realized there is something good in the trash, so we went to other nearby villages to look for plastics so we can exchange them, too, for rice,” fisherman Rodel Enverga, 36, told UCA News.
Some residents went to grocery stores and gasoline stations to collect plastics.
“I know a grocery store here that throws a lot of plastics… even gasoline stations. So, I go there every other day to collect their trash and bring them home so I can exchange them for rice. Not only our bellies are full, but we also help the environment,” Nelly Cervantes, 41, a mother of two, told UCA News.
Cervantes claimed business owners who knew about the project later on sorted the plastics because they knew it meant food for the poor living province’s coastlines.
“They [business owners] instructed their keepers to segregate the plastic for us. Before, they all mixed them together. But now, they have learned to segregate because every kilo meant food for us,” Cervantes added.
The World Bank reported in 2021 that the Philippines is the third-largest contributor of plastic waste in the world, contributing to an estimated 0.75 million metric tons of ocean plastic every year.
“Dubbed as the ‘sachet economy,’ the Philippines is notorious for irresponsible trash haulers and open dump sites that cause the plastic to spill into the seas,” the report said.
The 435-year-old Baroque-style Malate Church has been recognized by the National Museum for its historic and cultural role
Church and government officials seen on April 22 near the belfry of the 435-year-old baroque-style Our Lady of Remedies Parish, more popularly known as Malate Church, which was declared an ‘important cultural property’ by the National Museum of the Philippines. (Photo: Jef Delamonte)
By UCA News reporter Published: April 24, 2023 11:00 AM GMT
A 435-year-old Baroque-style church in the Philippines was declared an “important cultural property” by the government on April 22.
Nuestra Señora de los Remedios (Our Lady of the Remedies), more popularly known as “Malate Catholic Church” in the capital Manila, was recognized by the National Museum of the Philippines for its historical and cultural role.
“A panel of experts was convened on Dec. 5, 2018, by the director-general of the National Museum of the Philippines” to decide which of certain cultural properties should “be designated as National Cultural Treasures and Important Cultural Properties,” according to a citation by the National Museum.
An “Important Cultural Property” is known for its outstanding “historical, cultural, artistic and/or scientific value” which is highly significant and important to the country, the citation added.
The Cultural Properties Preservation and Protection Act, the National Museum Act of 1998, and the National Cultural Heritage Act of 2009 mandates the government to declare “Important Cultural Property.”
Leonista Distor, the Columban missionary and parish priest, thanked devotees of the Malate church, saying the greatest miracle has been the growing number of devotees that visit each day.
“Our mission is not only to protect the church’s structure but to protect the faith of the Filipino people. Our work in the parish is not focused on taking care of the cultural aspect of the church but also in honing the spirituality and faith of every Filipino,” Distor said during a speech on April 22 when it was conferred the honor by the National Museum. Among those in attendance was Manila Mayor Honey Lacuna-Pangan.
The Columbans-run church played a key role in the Philippine liberation and in 1898 Augustinian friars secretly allowed revolutionaries to take refuge in its belfry.
“For a time, it became a hideout for the revolutionaries because it was very near the Intramuros, the walled city that was the seat of power of colonial Spain” in the Philippines, historian Rafael Murillo told UCA News.
As the oldest church, built in 1588 in the archipelago, it survived the Chinese invasion in 1662, the British occupation in 1762, and a devastating earthquake in 1863, Murillo added.
The church contains the centuries-old image of Our Lady of Remedies, which was shipped to the Philippines in 1538 from Spain by the Augustinian missionaries.
Mothers with sick children and those experiencing diseases visit the church, seeking its intercession.
“In 1995, I was diagnosed with a lump in my uterus. It was growing fast. So, I prayed to Our Lady and attended the daily Mass. A year later, the doctor informed me that the lump had stopped growing and that it was benign,” Marian devotee Cathy Maristela, 43, told UCA News.
Since then, I photocopied novenas and left hundreds of copies in the church pews, Maristela recalled.
“Many women are seeking the help of Our Lady to cure their illness,” Maristela added.
Another mother claimed her second son had pneumonia when she asked the parish priest in 2009 if she could place her son at the altar table while she and her husband prayed to the image. “We were desperate. We were on our way to the Philippine General Hospital and we passed by the Malate church. I offered my son to Our Lady to make him well. A week later, we were discharged from the hospital,” Manila parishioner Anna Liza Logrono, 47, told UCA News
During Chrism Mass in the Vatican on Holy Thursday, Pope Francis thanks priests for the good they do, which so often goes unrecognized. And he encourages them to invoke the Holy Spirit as ‘the breath of each day,’ which, even in times of crisis, gives them joy and points them in the right direction, toward Christ.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
“Priestly maturity comes from the Holy Spirit and is achieved when He becomes the protagonist in our lives.”
Pope Francis gave this reminder on Holy Thursday morning during the Chrism Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, as he urged priests to invoke the Spirit not only as “an occasional act of piety,” but as “the breath of each day.”
In his homily, the Pope thanked priests for their service, which often goes unrecognized, as he reflected on the Holy Spirit.
The Pope recalled Jesus saying, in today’s readings, that the Spirit of the Lord was upon Him, and underscored that without the Spirit “there can be no Christian life; without His anointing, there can be no holiness.”
Lost without Holy Spirit
Since the Spirit is at the centre, the Pope said, it is fitting that today, “on the birthday of the priesthood, we acknowledge His presence at the origin of our own ministry, and as the life and vitality of every priest.”
Chrism Mass in the Vatican
Holy Mother Church, he recalled, teaches us to profess that the Holy Spirit is the “giver of life.”
“Without the Holy Spirit,” the Pope warned, “the Church would not be the living Bride of Christ, but, at most, a religious association…”
The Holy Father reiterated that we are “temples of the Holy Spirit” who “dwells in us.”
“We cannot lock the Spirit out of the house, or park Him in some devotional zone! No, at the center! Each day we need to say: ‘Come, for without Your strength, we are lost.’”
The Pope said that we can all say that the Spirit is upon us, not out of presumption, but as a reality.
“Dear brothers, apart from any merit of our own, and by sheer grace,” Pope Francis said, “we have received an anointing that has made us fathers and shepherds among the holy People of God.”
Pope Francis at Chrism Mass in the Vatican
The Apostles’ turnaround
The Pope recalled how Jesus chose His Apostles, and, at His call, they left their boats, nets, and homes.
“The anointing of the Word changed their lives,” he recalled, saying with great enthusiasm, saying “they followed the Master and began to preach, convinced that they would go on to accomplish even greater things.” However, then came the Passover, the Pope stated, observing that at this moment “everything seemed to come to a halt: they even denied and abandoned their Master,” recalling the denial of Christ by Peter.
However, the Holy Father highlighted, “It was precisely that ‘second anointing’, at Pentecost, that changed the disciples and led them to shepherd no longer themselves but the Lord’s flock. It was that anointing with fire that extinguished a ‘piety’ focused on themselves and their own abilities.
“After receiving the Spirit, Peter’s fear and wavering dissipated; James and John, with a burning desire to give their lives, no longer sought places of honour – our careerism, brothers; the others who had huddled fearfully in the Upper Room, went forth into the world as Apostles.”
The Pope observed that something similar, to the Apostles’ experience, happens in the priestly and apostolic lives of priests.
Two options at times of crisis
“We too experienced an initial anointing, which began with a loving call that captivated our hearts and set us out on the journey; the power of the Holy Spirit descended upon our genuine enthusiasm and consecrated us. Later, in God’s good time, each of us experienced a Passover, representing the moment of truth. A time of crisis…”
For the anointed, the Pope said, this stage is a watershed.
“We can emerge from it badly, drifting towards mediocrity and settling for a dreary routine, in which three dangerous temptations can arise: The temptation of compromise, where we are content just to do what has to be done; the temptation of surrogates, where to find satisfaction we look not to our anointing, but elsewhere; and the temptation of discouragement – that is the most common-, where dissatisfaction leads to inertia.”
The great danger
This here, Pope Francis said, is the great danger: “While outward appearances remain intact, ‘I am a priest,’ we close in upon ourselves and are content just to get by. The fragrance of our anointing no longer wafts through our lives; our hearts no longer expand but shrivel, disillusioned and disenchanted.” And priests risk their identities as pastors of the people, to becoming clerics of the State.
Yet, he reminded them, this crisis also has the potential to be a turning point in our priesthood.
For it can become, Pope Francis said, the “decisive stage of the spiritual life, in which the ultimate choice has to be made between Jesus and the world, between heroic charity and mediocrity, between the Cross and comfort, between holiness and dutiful fidelity to our religious obligations.”
At this moment, Pope Francis announced that at the end of the ceremony, a writing by Fr. René Voillaume, who founded the Little Brothers of Jesus and was inspired by the life and writings of saint Charles de Foucauld, entitled La Seconda Chiamata (“The Second Calling”), would be offered to all priests present, as a tool to remind clerics how they are called, once again, to let the Holy Spirit transform them.
Pope Francis gives homily during Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday in the Vatican
Setting out on a new journey
The Pope called it a moment of grace when, like the disciples at Easter, we are called to be “sufficiently humble to admit that we have been won over by the suffering and crucified Christ, and to set out on a new journey, that of the Spirit, of faith, and of a love that is strong, yet without illusions.”
This happens, he said, with the help of the Holy Spirit, and requires that we admit the reality of our own weakness.
“That is what the Spirit of truth tells us to do; he prompts us to look deep within and to ask: Does my fulfilment depend on my abilities, my position, the compliments I receive, my promotions, the respect of my superiors or coworkers, the comforts with which I surround myself? Or on the anointing that spreads its fragrance everywhere in my life? “
“Dear brothers, priestly maturity comes from the Holy Spirit and is achieved when He becomes the protagonist in our lives.”
“Once that happens, everything turns around,” Pope Francis insisted, “even disappointments and bitter experiences, and sins, since we are no longer trying to find happiness by adjusting details, but by giving ourselves completely to the Lord who anointed us and who wants that anointing to penetrate to the depths of our being!
“Brothers,” he exhorted, “we discover that the spiritual life becomes liberating and joyful, once we are no longer concerned to save appearances and make quick fixes, but leave the initiative to the Spirit and, in openness to his plans, show our willingness to serve wherever and however we are asked. Our priesthood does not grow by quick fixes but by an overflow of grace!”
The Spirit cleanses and heals
If priests allow the Spirit of Truth to act within them, the Pope said, they will preserve His anointing, because “the various untruths with which we are tempted to live, will come to light.” And the Spirit who “cleanses what is unclean,” will tirelessly suggest to to priests “not to defile our anointing.’”
The Holy Spirit alone heals our infidelities, the Pope said, noting that the Spirit “is that interior teacher to whom we must listen, recognizing that He desires to anoint every part of us.”
Delegates to the general conference of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences pose for a photograph at the end of their meeting on Oct. 29, 2022. (FABC Photo handout)
The Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences urged Churches and Church leaders to go “off the beaten track” and to “face new pastoral priorities”
Jose Torres Jr. March 16, 2023
Asia’s Catholic leaders called on Churches across the region to launch “pastoral actions” to address challenges facing Asia, such as the climate crisis and the situation of migrants and refugees.
In its “final document” following its general conference in Thailand in October, the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences (FABC) urged Churches and Church leaders to go “off the beaten track” and to “face new pastoral priorities.”
The document was presented online on Wednesday, March 15, five months after the general conference in October to mark FABC’s 50th year.
The so-called “Bangkok Document” brings together reflections shared by participants of the conference, an event that Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon, FABC president, described as “a watershed for the journey of the Churches of Asia.”
He said the gathering in October that brought together 226 lay people, consecrated men and women, priests, bishops, archbishops, major archbishops, and cardinals from 17 episcopal conferences and two synods of Oriental Churches in Asia was “a dialogue in solidarity and collegiality.”
Cardinal Bo said the “Bangkok Document” aims to translate into the life of the communities the discussions during the meeting that carried the theme “Journeying together as Peoples of Asia.”
The document invites the Church in Asia to return to the people “by another road” like what the Wise Men who came from the East did after meeting with Jesus in Bethlehem.
Cardinal Oswald Gracias, archbishop of Mumbai, said the document is a text for Churches across Asia “to reflect, pray, and choose their own priorities.”
“I think that, as was the case with the Aparecida Document in Latin America, it will be the point of reference for our communities for the next five or ten years,” said the prelate.
The “Aparecida Document” is the final document of the 5th General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America and the Caribbean, which met in May 2007 on the theme “Disciples and Missionaries of Jesus Christ so that our peoples may have life in Him. ‘I am the Way, the Truth and the Life’ (Jn 14:6).”
Cardinal Gracias said the “Bangkok Document” is “an indication of the direction in which to work in order to be a Church for a better Asia and a better world,” adding that it is “the mission that God has assigned to us.”
Thai youth welcome Asian bishops with spectacular show at the opening ceremony of the 50th Anniversary FABC General Conference in Thailand, Oct. 12, 2022. (Photo by Nattha Nuchsuwan / LiCAS.news)
Synodality and pastoral presence
The document, which was drafted by a committee led by Bishop Pablo Virgilio David, president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, is divided in five chapters that focus on “synodality,” the emerging challenges in Asian society, the responses to the pastoral challenges, the relationship between the Churches of Asia and the universal Church, and the pastoral presence of the Church in Asia.
The five chapeters of the 40-page document are titled: “Journeying together,” “Looking at Asia’s emerging realities,” “Discerning what the Spirit is saying to the Church in Asia,” “Offering Our Gifts which are Asian Culture and Spirituality,” and “Opening New Pathways.”
“Journeying together” discusses issues on how to respond to the “call of synodality.” It talks about the “three essential elements” of a synodal church, that is, Communion, Participation, and Mission.
The second part of the document looks into Asia’s emerging realities and the challenges confronting the Church in Asia. The document identifies challenges, especially those pertaining to:
Migrants, refugees, and Indigenous People
Families who are the bedrock of society
Gender Issues confronting the Church and Society
The role of women in fast-changing Asian societies
Youth confronting a new world
The impact of digital technology
Promoting an equitable Economy in the face of Urbanization and Globalization
The Climate Crisis, which endangers Our Common Home
Interreligious Dialogue
The document urges Churches to undertake pastoral action, from attention to the family to leadership roles for women in ecclesial communities.
Churches are also urged to be more conscious in the use of digital technologies and to be “bridges of dialogue and reconciliation.” They are also called to undertake formation courses for the clergy in the context and culture of Asia.
The document also identifies “new paths” that Churches of Asia will follow in its work for evangelization, including a transition “from a paradigm with a dominant model to a truly inculturated approach.”
Basic ecclesial communities are invited to “widen the stakes of their tent” and become realities that also look beyond borders to broaden relationships with men and women of every confession.
In ecclesial life, a “qualitative leap” from dialogue to “true synodality” is suggested, while in the proclamation of the Gospel, there should be a transition from “abstract proclamation” to the “telling of stories of faith incarnated in life.”
Bishops from across Asia prepare for the celebration of the closing Mass at the end of the general conference of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences in Bangkok, Thailand, on Oct. 30, 2022. (Photo by Joe Torres)
Commitment to the poor
During their meeting in October, Asia’s Catholic Church leaders committed themselves to “positively respond to ‘both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.’”
In a message to the “Peoples of Asia,” the Church leaders said they were “challenged by the different voices of our multifaceted continent that we hear crying out for help and justice.”
In a statement, they said they were able to “touch the soul of Asia” during their series of meetings and consultations held in the outskirts of the Thai capital from October 12 to 30.
“We were inspired by the hope, courage, and determination shown by the Churches in Asia to journey together and work with more dedicatedly for a better Asia,” read the bishops’ statement.
They said that “in prayer and in a spirit of collaboration,” they want to respond to the challenges being faced by the region “by relying on the power of love, compassion, justice, and forgiveness.”
“We believe that peace and reconciliation is the only way forward,” the said, adding that they have “envisaged new pathways for our ministry based on mutual listening and genuine discernment.”
Bishop Bagaforo described the anti-graft court decision as “a major setback for the Filipino people”
LiCAS News February 24, 2023
Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Kidapawan. (Photo courtesy of CBCP News)
The social action arm of the Philippine Catholic bishops’ conference expressed alarm over a court decision dismissing a civil case against former president Ferdinand E. Marcos in relation to his alleged ill-gotten wealth.
“We are disappointed and alarmed by the recent ruling from the Sandiganbayan’s fifth division regarding the former dictator’s acquisition of ill-gotten wealth,” said Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo of Kidapawan, national director of Caritas Philippines.
He described the anti-graft court decision as “a major setback for the Filipino people who have already been robbed of a better future and are currently experiencing high levels of poverty, as well as rising prices for basic necessities, education, and healthcare.”
The Sandiganbayan Fifth Division dismissed the civil case against Marcos and his alleged cronies for lack of evidence.
“This court finds that the plaintiff failed to prove by preponderant evidence that the properties alleged in the complaint are ill-gotten and/or was beneficially owned and controlled by former President Marcos and his family,” read the Sandiganbayan decision.
The civil action was filed in July 1987 “to recover from them ill-gotten wealth consisting of funds and other property which they, in unlawful concert with one another, had acquired and accumulated in flagrant breach of trust and of their fiduciary obligations as public officers, with grave abuse of right and power, and in brazen violation of the Constitution and laws of the Republic of the Philippines.”
However, the court noted there was no “competent evidence” to prove that the corporations in the amended complaint were dummies and the former president had a hand in them.
It added there was no sufficient proof that other defendants had close associations with Marcos or any members of his family.
Bishop Bagaforo called on government agencies “to work diligently to gather, validate, and preserve substantial and indisputable evidence that can be presented in court.”
“We remain optimistic that one day, the Filipino people will emerge victorious over corruption, poverty, and tyranny,” said the bishop in a radio interview.
The proposed measure was an offshoot of Pope Francis’ position to simplify the procedures for annulling marriages in the Catholic Church
Philippine News Agency February 24, 2023
Wedding ceremony. (Photo by Angie de Silva)
The House Committee on Population and Family Relations on Thursday, February 23, approved a bill seeking civil recognition of Church annulment to make it accessible and not expensive for many Filipinos.
The bill has been endorsed to a technical working group (TWG) tasked to consolidate all eight related measures and craft a substitute bill.
Representative Jude Acidre of Tingog party-list said if the bill becomes law, a declaration of nullity (of marriage) decreed by the Church will hold as much weight and have the same effect as a civil annulment.
He said the measure removes the burden of undergoing the civil annulment process such that Catholics who have sought annulment in the Church should not anymore be “long oppressed by the darkness of doubt” over whether their marriages, already declared null and void, should also be recognized as such by the State.
House Bill 1953 proposes that a marriage duly and legally solemnized by a priest, imam, rabbi, or presiding elder of an established Church or religion in the Philippines which is subsequently annulled, dissolved or declared a nullity in a final judgment or decree in accordance with the canons and precepts of the Church or religious sect, shall have the same effect as a decree of annulment, dissolution or declaration of nullity issued by a competent court.
“A marriage solemnized by the Church therefore should have not only canonical but civil effects as well. Priests, pastors, imams and rabbis who solemnize marriage must have the authority to solemnize granted by the State,” the bill’s explanatory note read.
The authors said the proposed measure was an offshoot of Pope Francis’ position to simplify the procedures for annulling marriages in the Catholic Church.
“If a marriage can be legitimately contracted under the laws of the Church, then it follows that under the same laws, such marriage can also be nullified or annulled,” they said, noting Pope Francis’ issuance of “Mitis Iudex Dominus lesus,” which streamlined the process of the declaration of nullity of marriage.
“The Family Code of the Philippines recognizes as valid a marriage solemnized under the laws of the Church. If marriages so solemnized are recognized by the State, it is only proper that the very Church that solemnized the marriage should also have the power to rule that attendant infirmity that rendered a marriage null and its effects binding on the State. This is also the same to all other established churches and religions,” the authors explained.
Under Section 3 of the bill, “the status of children of marriages subject to a decree of annulment or declaration of nullity by the Church or religious sect shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Executive Order No. 209, otherwise known as the Family Code of the Philippines.”
In case the grounds for the Church annulment or declaration of nullity are not similar to any of the grounds provided in the Family Code, their common children born or conceived before the issuance of the decree of annulment or declaration of nullity shall be considered legitimate, according to the bill.
Without prejudice to the conditions set forth by the Church or religious sect, the measure also proposes that either of the former spouses may marry again after complying with the requirements provided under Section 5 and Article 52 of the Family Code, otherwise the subsequent marriage shall be null and void.
To secure a marriage license, the spouse involved must present a true certified copy of the decree of annulment or declaration of nullity issued by the church or religious sect and registered with the appropriate civil registry.
They added that under Presidential Decree No. 1083, the State recognizes divorce under the Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines, which is based on Sharia, or Islamic law.
“Under the principle of equality before the law, if a Muslim divorce is recognized, there can be no serious objections towards the recognition of the civil effects of a marriage by an established and duly recognized religious denomination,” they added.
The people called on the government to stop the construction of the Kaliwa Dam in the provinces of Quezon and Rizal
Jire Carreon February 23, 2023
About 300 indigenous people belonging to the Dumagat-Remontado tribe in the Sierra Madre mountain range arrive in the Philippine capital Manila on Feb. 23, 2023, after a nine-day protest march against the building of a dam in their ancestral land. (Photo by Jire Carreon)
About 300 indigenous people belonging to the Dumagat-Remontado tribe in the Sierra Madre mountain range arrive in the Philippine capital Manila on Feb. 23, 2023, after a nine-day protest march against the building of a dam in their ancestral land.
The people called on the government to stop the construction of the Kaliwa Dam in the provinces of Quezon and Rizal. (Photos by Jire Carreon)
